13 interesting facts from Election Day

By Eduard Zaloshnja

1. Koço Kokedhima’s campaign for massive boycott/abstain of the polls seemed to have very little impact on left wing voters, because the drop in turnout was mainly registered among right wing urban voters. In fact, around 73% of 2.2 million voters who live in Albania did actually participate in the 25 June polls (compared to 81% in 2013) and only 1.9% of ballot papers were declared invalid (compared to 1.6% in 2013).
2. In the race for the mayor of Kavaja, the democrat candidate won by 0.1% of the votes. Meanwhile, on the same day, in the voting for parliament, the SP was 4% ahead of the DP.
3. In the constituency of Vlora, Vangjel Dule (third on the list of the Democratic Party) would have remained without a mandate if the Democratic Party was voted by 830 fewer voters than the number that actually voted this party on 25 June (his mandate would have been taken by the ninth SP candidate on the list). It seems that the intensive campaign of the campaign held by the Cham democrat candidate, Dashamir Tahiri (fifth on the DP’s list), has been decisive for the mandate that was obtained by Dule, who belongs to the Greek minority.
4. Even if 12 thousand fewer democrats had turned out in the polls on June 25 in the constituency of Tirana, the DP would have obtained the same number of seats that it obtained (11). Meanwhile, if the people that voted the Republican Party would have voted the Democratic Party, the seat of the Socialist Movement for Integration MP, Luan Rama, would have gone to the 12^th democrat candidate. In fact, Fatmir Mediu called on republicans to vote the DP (and not RP), but some of the republicans of Tirana did not receive the message, unintentionally helping Luan Rama to win a seat.
5. Even if 12 thousand fewer socialists had turned out in the polls in the constituency of Shkoder, the Socialist Party would have obtained the same number of seats that it obtained (4). Meanwhile, if the SP had been voted by 1500 of the people that voted Tom Doshi (Doshi obtained 5300 votes more than he needed), Nard Ndoka’s seat (fifth on the DP’s list) would have gone to the fifth socialist candidate.
6. In the constituency of Kukes, the SP obtained almost 12 thousand votes more than it needed for the only seat that it secured, but if it had obtained 1480 votes more than it obtained on 25 June, it could have obtained 2 seats (Safet Gjici would have obtained the second seat of the Socialist Party).
7. The Democratic Party obtained 10 thousand votes more in the constituency of Durres to secure the 4 seats that it secured. However, Agron Duka (fifth on the list of the Democratic Party) would have obtained his seat (by taking it to SMI), if 3 thousand right wing voters had gone to the polling stations instead of the beach on June 25.
8. In the constituency of Elbasan, Party for Justice, Integration and Unity obtained 11 thousand more votes than it needed to secure the 2 seats that it already secured and with another 1850 extra votes, it would have also secured the third seats and this would leave Edmond Haxhinasto of SMI without a seat.
9. In the constituency of Berat, if SMI was voted by 1450 fewer voters, its second seat would have gone to the Democratic Party, which obtained only 1 seat.
10. If the SMI was voted by 1450 fewer people in the constituency of Korca than it was actually voted on 25 June, the fourth seat would have gone to the Socialist Movement for Integration, which only obtained one seat.
11. The biggest growth in the number of votes obtained by a party in a district was registered by PJIU and SDP. From 250 votes that it obtained in 2013, PJIU obtained 12. 500 votes in the district of Dibra on 25 June (50 times more), thus securing 4300 thousand more votes than it needed for Reme Lala’s seat. From 570 votes that it had obtained in the constituency of Shkodra four years ago, the SDP received 13. 100 votes on June 25 (23 times more), thus securing 5300 more votes for Tom Doshi’s seat. In the constituency of Elbasan, from 12.000 votes obtained four years ago PJIU obtained 29.200 votes on 25 June (almost three times more) and with an extra 1850 votes, it could have secured the third seat (as opposed to one obtained in 2013).
12. Around 100 thousand voters, who live in different areas of Albania, don’t have their names appearing on the voters list, because they have only moved physically, without changing their legal address. It is not known how many of them have bothered on 25 June to go to their constituencies and vote. However, according to the report issued by OSCE-ODIHR observers, in only 5% of the polling stations observed by them, ballots belonging to people who had not been present on election day, had been casted.
13. If a pure proportional election system had been applied on June 25, the new parliament would be as follows: SP-69 seats, DP-41 seats, SMI-20 seats, PJIU-7 seats, LIBRA-2 seats, SDP-1 seat (see the following table).